Food Hangover!

It is real!

It is when you wake up the next day after eating something 'off plan' and you feel hungover without the actual fun of drinking yourself into a stupor the night before!

Symptoms include headache of mammoth proportion, bloated, in need of a bucket, clammy, cold, hot, heavy head, brain fuzz and general feeling of MEH..... Yep Meh is a thing!

Then the emotional side of 'WTF was I thinking eating *insert chemical bomb here*'

One thing I didn't know when embarking on my Wholefood Plantbased diet was that if I slipped up or decided to cheat it would end in me being knocked on my arse!

Yesterday was a massive day of traveling, emotion and no time to eat properly if at all..... Today I am now suffering *considering if I need a bucket* my head may explode and my pants (yoga pants) feel tight, I generally feel MEH, cant be bothered doing my chores let alone spell correctly (spell check is my knight in shining armor) 

I am trying to nourish my body with fruit and veg smoothies, lots of water and essential oils to ease my headache..... But can't help thinking is this really worth it? Maybe I should just stay unhealthy?

I don't think it matters what health journey you are on! You have moments of WHY?

Life gets in the way, emotions, time restraints etc

Its easier to be unhealthy..... Sad but true.... At least how I feel right now

Yesterday was a tangle of emotions, saying goodbye to my 16 year old as she is off to explore Japan (first ever time over seas) then not wanting to be left out from eating like a 'normal person', temptation was EVERYWHERE and my sticking power was obviously left in bed! Then the tight schedule left me no time to have lunch or dinner and went to bed feeling BLA.....

Luckily today life can resume to normal, daughter safely landed and touched base with us *insert happy dance here*

But now to shake these feelings of MEH BLA and UGH..... Yes these too are real feelings lol

So bring on the happy music, uplifting essential oils a fresh sushi bowl and some sunshine!

Don't let bad day's, week's, month's throw you off your path, they are just steps in your journey, you can redirect those steps :)

Also don't let others tell you how your journey 'should be' it's yours, its personal and its none of their business, they can either support you or F@#ck off!

I am only learning it now, but I really do think that my Wholefood Plantbased diet has given me so much more than just health, its given me confidence in myself and the knowledge of what what my body REALLY needs :)

So if your having a bad day..... HANG IN THERE..... you got this ;)

Lessons to be learned

What I have learned in the recent chaos of having everyone so sick!

I know that usually when everyone is so sick us mum's just feel run down, exhausted and run on pure determination.......

I have had at least one child sick all winter, unfortunately my 5 year old was hit the most and at times it was bloody SCARY!

I currently have all 3 home sick......

I am utterly exhausted and at times felt utterly depressed!

Normally I would be spouting off about germy people should just stay the F@#ck at home (yep I have the mouth of a sailor hehe) but instead I have had a light bulb moment and it took me getting to my wits end to have this moment.

I have dragged the kids to doctors then hospital and then back to the doctors AGAIN with no real help..... in fact if I was told rest, fluids & Panadol one more time I might of screamed or popped the doctor in the nose!

Utterly at my wits end off to the chemist I went (AGAIN) to buy more 'drugs' to try and help comfort my kids and hopefully get some sleep..... Looking at the mind boggling amount of syrups, cough lollies and tablets with all their claims of easing symptoms and yet so far none have worked..... I decided to chat to the pharmacist *insert angelic music here* little Chinese man, softly spoken and full of smiles, he was my Knight in shining armor hehe

He listened to my exhausted rants and explained that instead of suppressing symptoms I needed to look at immunity boosting *insert ah ha moment* he passed me an immunity booster advised me to double the dose to start then use a daily dose there after and even suggested a nice cup of green tea to help me re-energise...... See he was my Knight :)

So I went and enjoyed a cup of green tea and had a think about how I have been handling the stress that is sick kids...... I have been merely dragging myself and the kids through doing what I thought was right but really in my exhausted state it was wrong...... I have not been using food as medicine!

So the old me who relied on take away, processed foods took over when the reality is that there is so many quick easy wholefood recipes that can nourish and fight viruses!

So out of the chaos that has been winter I have learned that I need to be more organised, I need to stop relying on doctors and 'drugs' and I need to rely on what I have learned about about real food.

I have also learned that I need to stay away from super markets when I am exhausted, I have spent SOOOOOO much money buying convenient foods (and takeaway) I found myself impulse buying, buying packaged food that unfortunately had no real nutrients in it!

As a mum we also put the kids needs first so I haven't looked after myself, all the things that I was doing to create a healthy me fell by the wayside and this added to the exhaustion. I didn't really know the damage I was doing to myself till my skin broke out! And I don't just mean a zit or two I mean my whole face became this red, irritated, bumpy mess that looked TERRIBLE and felt ever so painful, my body is aching and I feel bloated....... I know I need to get out into the fresh air and move my body but I am just too embarrassed :(

As a mum I face these stressors on a regular basis and every time I have fallen apart (on the inside cause us mum's can't show we are a hot mess) and resort to takeaway and processed foods so now I have to replace this behavior with what I do on a normal day, on a stress free day my nutrition is spot on and I feel amazing, so now its time to make that happen on stressful day as this will help me be a better mum and it will help my kids over come their illnesses FASTER.

Miss 5 has been on this immunity booster for 5 days now and for the last 2 nights she has finally had restful sleep! Which means I got sleep too..... Hello brain I have missed you :)

So I have avoided the supermarket, bought only fresh veg and fruit and have avoided all packet foods and deleted all takeaway menus from my phone!

AND lots of green tea hehe

Its easy to forget all the good stuff when you feel like shit! And that's Ok.......

But don't let that then define you......

Instead let it be a lesson :)

Also don't be afraid to ask for help, whether its just to off load your emotions or to ask for assistance do it, don't go it alone and don't forget to look after yourself!

Craving adventure..... Updates on where my journey is heading

I am still a long way off of where I want to be in both my home and my diet but I have to say I am feeling more and more alive and want to experience more!

I want ADVENTURE!!!!

I am not sure if it was not having the time or the energy (more the latter) to go exploring, I am embarrassed to say that I haven''t even explored my home town...... Sad I know!

My excuse it I have been to busy, but the reality is that I have been to wrapped up in the hustle a bustle that is life...... But it doesn't have to be that way, I see that now.

So I have just taken another 4 bags to donation, my front entrance has finally returned to a lovely clear open space where I have full access to my beautiful bearded dragon Luna, she waves to us to greet us when we get through the door..... Its the little things like this that mean far more to me than any other possession! Although I think she owns us more than us own her hehe

My cleaning routine has already reduced and I have been able to spend more time learning, reading, cooking up potions :)

Time to start using that time to create lasting memories with the family!!!

So its time to find some local wonders to explore..... Has anyone got any places in mind for us to start?

To help power us along on our adventures I have found some yumi whole food plant based recipes and started to buy us all a stainless steel drink bottle, lunchbox, cutlery, hiking backpack to put it all in and some new hiking boots :)

I'm thinking to work our way from small hikes to larger ones with a bit of camping when its warmer weather. But I am thinking for now of lashing out with the money we are saving from our new way of life on a cabin somewhere, Hubby has been working super hard and with all the recent sickness we've been battling a nice long weekend would be the perfect way to recharge the old batteries :)

Updates:

I joined my local Co Op, Ballarat wholefood collective. The ladies have been so welcoming and helpful as I had no idea how it all worked...... So my advice for you is take a pen, piece of paper and your Zero waste shopping kit (mason jars, produce bags, shopping bags) and when you first join up it's $50 (take cash) wheen you ready to do your first shop you write down what you have bought along with the weight (they have scales at the front desk to use) and they can email you your receipt another win for zero waste. I found they had a wonderful selection of staples, they also had our local mushrooms, cheese, milk, eggs, bacon and amazing fresh bread that was still warm from the oven :)

To get your Veggie fix head:

Spring Creek Organics is a local farm that produces so many wonderful organic veg that taste like nothing you've ever tasted before! Here you can only buy whats in season which means you are getting quality fresh veg, you are also supporting the farmer and this farmer is not only good at what he does but also an absolute scream to chat to :) And you can take your veggie scraps back to the farm to feed their piggies!!!

In the journey to waste free & healthy living I have found that I have cut down on a lot of things that I saw as a luxuries or that I just had to have to make me happy BUT I have found that what really makes me happy is gym!

Spartans gym is not only the place my Hubby works out and trains but also the place that I feel the most confident and comfortable! My training goals have swapped and changed ALOT over the years but Spartans and the team have always been there for me and have always encouraged me to chase my goals. My goals have changed (again, poor hubby lol) I am currently working towards strength, I want to have a go at Powerlifting :)

I've been struggling with my diet so I am back on Emma Roche, my excuse is LIFE but with that said I haven't fallen off the wagon completely I just need a plan to follow as I simply can't be creative enough on my own.

So thats where I am at.....

So how is your journey going?

Procrastination

I have three tubs of compost in my kitchen, as my Maze bucket is leaking thanks to a loose spout so its outside waiting for me to empty it but before I can empty it I have to either dig a hole or rebuild the outdoor compost..... But alas the 'can't be bothereds' have struck

Instead I have been in the kitchen brewing up baked beans, potato pies, fruity kombucha and rearranging my kitchen bench tops.....

Procrastination..... of a productive manner hehe

So while in the kitchen I have created a list of things that I can swap out instead of buying pre-packaged and plan to go to Go Vita as they have bulk dispensers, they even have raw chocolate in their bulk dispensers which makes my taste buds very happy hehe. I also downloaded the bulk list from Ballarat whole food co op and plan to visit on Wednesday before work :)

My rubbish has more than halved since I have changed the way I 'throw away waste', I don't use rubbish bags anymore as everything that goes into my 'rubbish' bin is dry! All my food waste goes into the compost, I now only make enough to feed the family so leftovers never get thrown away and citrus peel gets reused in my homemade cleaner.

I have also been working hard on my recycling as here in Aus our recycling used to be sent to china but since that stopped inn 2017, Aus doesn't know what to do with it! So now I am using up what I can by re-purposing it into things such as cutlery holders but not for food as plastic can leach chemicals especially when heated.

While procrastinating I was thinking about how my Nan used to do things, always making things from scratch, most things came in glass or tin and she always slathered things in butter instead of using what I now conveniently use baking paper.

Then the light bulb went off......

Convenience is what has gotten us to where we are today!

So I am going to work hard to no longer buy convenience, I have already started by going to farmers markets but I want to take it further as I still rely heavily of the supermarket for sauces, spices and baking goods. I have managed to cut back on plastic by making my own juice and Kombucha but I still buy milk, which I use nut milk so can easily make that but the rest of the family still enjoys milk now 1 plastic container a week down from about 8 is a huge achievement but I am going to hunt down an alternative....... Luckily I am loving this journey and I don't see it as inconvenient, its fun hunting down alternatives and teaching my kiddies along the way :)

My best tip is pintrest best place for ideas on upcycling, zero waste replacers and tips for creating a convenient zero waste lifestyle..... I have made so much, I feel so creative. I've made plantbased wax food wraps, lipbalm, healing balms, deodorant, toothpaste, facewashers, gifts boxes along with making my own sauces, spice mixes, cakes, biscuits and so much more  :)

But alas this is not dealing with my stinky compost..... Which you can freeze (if you have room in your freezer) and take it to the food is free garden instead of creating your own compost.

Old habits take time to beat....

Well beat isn't really the right the right word, in reality you are replacing a bad habit with a good one!

In any journey you need to be prepared for ups and downs!

Learning to be flexible, dropping the negative self talk when you do fluff up and resetting is the approach I take...... That makes it sound sooooo easy but unfortunately its taken me a long time with many failures to get to this 'happy' place.

When we embark on a journey we seem to have this all or nothing approach, mistakes are not seen as something to learn from but instead a complete and utter journey stopper!

If we could shift our thinking we can shift our journey.....

Think of your mistake as a step, use that step as a place to sit and think for a minute. Better yet get a journey diary, write down the mistake and pull it to pieces by asking questions like why it happened, how you can prevent it next time, how it makes you feel right now, what can you do right now to make this negative a positive?

Most of the time our mistakes aren't that big of a deal, but our all or nothing approach makes even the smallest thing a huge journey stopper!

I know you must be thinking 'easier said than done' and your right! I wont lie this process is fluffing hard! But as my mum always say's anything worth having is worth the hard work :)

Changing habits that you have had for many years is going to take many years to replace, but that doesn't mean you can't make positive steps now!

Setting goals creates a road map that you can follow.....

This is where I know I have gone wrong, I set a short time goal and had complete success but then I didn't reset I thought I could just go it alone..... WELL DER EM YOU CAN'T

So back to the drawing board, new goals, a new path, new steps towards my happy place :)

What is throw away culture?

Believe it or not the phrase 'throw away culture' was first used by Pope Francis!

Pope Francis is referring to how everything seems to be disposable, replaceable or temporary. He also spoke about over flowing landfills being an obvious sign of our throw away culture.

Throw away culture is due to consumerism, we over-consume. Our excessive nature now influences over-production, disposable and less durable products.

As a kid I remember my mum taking our VCR (yes I am old) to get repaired, now days we just throw it out and buy another one! The same can be said for many things that we consume; clothing, toys and other household items.

When you add this culture on top of the single use plastic products its no wonder our landfills are over flowing!

We live in a society that portrays more is better, the more 'things' you own the better your are in societies eyes...... Media plays a big role in this misconception, I know as a child I was bought up to work hard for what I wanted, that nothing is handed to you on a silver platter. As a child my most prized possession was a walking doll, she went everywhere with me, she even got buckled into the car! When she broke my dad fixed her, when she was dirty she got a bath...... Nowadays a doll just gets replaced and I must admit I am guilty of this!

Manufactures make things to last so long and then be replaced they make things easily disposable although they never think about what happens when the item is disposed!

This topic certainly opens up a can or worms and is very complicated!

Part of the complication is resources, carbon footprint, followed by weighing up the costs of production, transporting etc which can sometimes lead to the conclusion that single use is cheaper to produce but of course doesn't breakdown in landfill so will remain in the ground for:

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by what I am discovering, I am slowly changing the way I shop. The way to change the world starts in your own home!

If I don't bring it into my home, I can't waste it

If I stop using single use plastics, I can't throw them away

If I fix it, I can't throw it away

If I re-purpose it, I can't throw it away

If I teach my kids to respect their possessions, They can't throw it away

If I share my journey with my family, They will join my journey

Even the smallest reduction of personal waste whether it be single use plastic or getting something fixed, reduces the amount you contribute to landfill :)

Lets embrace loving what we have, consuming only what we need and open our minds to embracing experiences over material 'things'.

Imagine what the world could become :)

Mason Jar Mania

The humble mason jar.....

Mason jars in different sizes, the way of the future!

Food storage, beauty products, medical storage, gift storage..... The list goes on :)

Zero waste solution!

As I slowly change my kitchen, bathroom and other areas of my home more and more mason jars are coming in. What I have learnt so far is that carrots, celery and cucumber cut up into sticks put in mason jars and then topped up with water keep your veggie snack crisp for days and days when kept in the fridge. Apple cider vinegar, garlic, fennel, caraway seeds and honey make a wonderful cold and flu stopper and keeps for weeks in a mason jar. Bicarb, coconut oil and essential oils make wonderful toothpaste and deodorant and keep for ages in a mason jar.

Mason Jars open you up to exploring zero waste while changing you into a healthier person, a happier person.......

How simple!

How wonderful :)

Mason Jars made my meal perp beautiful! My fridge is now filled with colorful, live foods that makes me want to eat them. I now know exactly what I have in my fridge, pantry and bathroom cupboard which reduces waste while making shopping list writing easier too as I can see exactly what I need to buy.

Meals in a jar, no need for expensive plastic free lunchboxes!

Gifts in a jar, so pretty and reusable! Pintrest and Google have wonderful gift jar ideas.

Mason Jars making life simply beautiful :)